Ethnic Groups Stage New Year's Eve Parties

At least three galas are scheduled for New Year's Eve by ethnic groups in Indy:

The New Year's Eve Dance begins at 8 p.m. in the German-American Klub, 8602 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis. Sponsored by Die Fledermaeuschen Tanzgruppe, tickets are $15. For reservations, call 317:460-4270. There'll be dancing to the music of Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band. We will have fun, music, dancing, noisemakers, snacks and a champagne toast at midnight.

A family-centered New Year Celebration also begins at 8 p.m. in the India Community Center, Indianapolis. Sponsored by India Association of Indianapolis, tickets are $5 family, $2 individual. For more innformation, call Sumit Thaker: 317:374-7472.

A Multiethnic New Year's Eve Party takes place at the Latvian Community Center, 1008 West 64th Street, Indianapolis. Join the Latvians, Scots, Poles, Finns, Lithuanians and others for an international celebration.

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ESL Program in Indy's Pike Township Expands

When school begins Tuesday (11 August) in Marion County's Pike Township, "Students who don't speak English fluently will get a language boost," writes Gretchen Becker in The Indianapolis Star's NorthIndy section on 8 August 2009. The district will be using the "Newcomer's Program" to target students with low English language skills. Several Pike teachers involved in the program are multi-lingual, including Mieke Kendrick-Lambrecht, a native of Belgium, who speaks English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Finnish. Last year, 17% of the district's students (some 1,854) were non-native speakers of English.

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